


The Fine Art of Leaf Jumping

by DanceInTheKitchen



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Bromance, F/M, Leaf Jumping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:00:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27246172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanceInTheKitchen/pseuds/DanceInTheKitchen
Summary: You are just so dramatic!” Merlin said with a small laugh, “if you wanted to jump in the leaves you didn’t have to do it while jumping off your horse. You could have just created a pile of leaves to jump in!”“I did no such-” Arthur paused in the middle of his denial and let out a small sigh. Then he brightened up with an evil grin, one that promised nothing but work for Merlin. “Oi, since you’re my servant Merlin, why don’t you go collect a bunch of leaves so I can jump in them?” Arthur jokes, not actually expecting Merlin to do so.Merlin pretended to think about it for a moment,“Sure, Sire!” At Arthur’s appalled face, Merlin laughed and jumped off his horse. “It will surely be more fun than chasing around animals that have already been scared off thanks to your stench.”Or, Merlin and Arthur set out to hunt and end up leaf jumping.
Relationships: Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17
Collections: Merlin Autumn Exchange 2020





	The Fine Art of Leaf Jumping

**Author's Note:**

  * For [firelordmerlin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/firelordmerlin/gifts).



> Sorry this is a bit late! (*shakes fist at computer* curse you stupid school locks)

“Rise and shine, Dollop-head!” Merlin shouted cheerfully, as he threw the heavy curtains open. The sunlight streamed in through the windows and illuminated the room.

“Ugh.” Arthur replied, yanking his blanket up to cover his face. With one hand he grabbed a pillow and threw it at Merlin, who- in Arthur’s opinion- was far too awake at this time of day.

After dodging the pillow, Merlin grinned and opened the window. He let in a deep breath of fresh air. The air was crisp, pleasantly dry and a little chilly. He looked out at the courtyard below and saw nobles walking leisurely by, and servants rushing to complete their work. Merlin looked past the courtyard and to the forest beyond, he could see the colorful leaves both on the trees and piling up on the grassy floor of the forest.

Once Arthur ate breakfast and changed into his clothes, Merlin was informed that they would be going on a hunt today.

By the time Merlin had his and Arthur’s horses saddled and ready to go, Arthur was waiting for him impatiently in the courtyard.

“Finally Merlin! Did you get lost on the way to the courtyard?” Arthur asked, exasperatedly. Merlin rolled his eyes and he swung his leg over the horse and climbed up.

As they rode towards the forest, they bantered back and forth about various topics, including but not limited to: Arthur’s head injuries, Merlin’s wardrobe choices, and Merlin’s time spent in the “tavern”. Once they got to the forest, they both fell silent. Arthur stuck his hand out to Merlin for his crossbow, which Merlin quickly handed over. They both quietly continued on into the forest.

Merlin didn’t enjoy hunting very much. He didn’t really see the point of it, but Arthur always dragged him along on these hunting trips, so by now he was much more used to them. Also, Arthur had recently been very busy, as his job as crown prince was getting harder as he took over more and more responsibilities from his father. Uther had become despondent, and rarely left his room after Morgana’s betrayal. Merlin knew that all of this had been weighing heavily on Arthur, as so he did not argue the decision for a hunt, since Merlin knew it was one of Arthur’s ways to relax.

A few hours passed, but Arthur didn’t end up catching anything. It seemed that because of the chill in the air that day, all the animals had decided to stay sheltered and warm, instead of braving the chilly air. A smart move on their part, Merlin mused internally, as he shivered slightly from the cold.

Arthur, on the other hand, was much more frustrated by the lack of animals. He stopped his horse in the middle of a small clearing, right next to a small pile of leaves. Arthur jumped down from his horse, and landed directly in the pile of leaves. They made a satisfying crunching noise under his boots. Merlin couldn’t help but grin and snicker at Arthur’s dramatics.

“What are you laughing at _Mer-_ lin?” Arthur asked, squinting slightly at Merlin.

“Nothing, Sire!” Merlin said quickly with a small smirk.

Arthur glared at him, and repeated his question, this time with even more emphasis on Merlin’s name.

“You are just so dramatic!” Merlin said with a small laugh, “if you wanted to jump in the leaves you didn’t have to do it while jumping off your horse. You could have just created a pile of leaves to jump in!”

“I did no such-” Arthur paused in the middle of his denial and let out a small sigh. Then he brightened up with an evil grin, one that promised nothing but work for Merlin. “Oi, since you’re my servant Merlin, why don’t you go collect a bunch of leaves so I can jump in them?” Arthur jokes, not actually expecting Merlin to do so.

Merlin pretended to think about it for a moment,“Sure, Sire!” At Arthur’s appalled face, Merlin laughed and jumped off his horse. “It will surely be more fun than chasing around animals that have already been scared off thanks to your stench.”

As Merlin gathered leaves from around the clearing, he and Arthur argued back and forth about Arthur’s smelly socks and the necessity of going on hunts. Once Merlin had amassed a large enough pile of leaves, with a small bit of help from his magic, he stepped back and gestured grandly to the pile.

Arthur hesitated a bit. Jumping in leaves wasn’t exactly regal behavior expected of the crown prince. Merlin, upon noticing this, decided to take matters into his own hands.

“Oi, are you _scared_ to jump into a pile of leaves, clotpole?” Merlin taunted.

“Of course not!” Arthur snapped back indignantly. He tossed his cloak and chainmail to the side and took a running leap.

As Arthur cannonballed into the large pile of leaves, the leaves made a loud, satisfying, crunching sound and they flew everywhere in a flurry of colors. The red, brown, and orange leaves were tossed into the air and scattered around the small clearing. Merlin laughed as Arthur emerged from the pile covered head to toe in the dried leaves. Arthur, sensing that Merlin was laughing at him, did the one thing he could think of doing to shut Merlin up. He charged at Merlin and shoved him straight into the pile of leaves.

After flailing around for a minute, Merlin grinned and started jumping around. A few seconds later, Arthur joined him, and they both jumped around in the pile of leaves, laughing and shouting.

Soon, it grew dark, and both Arthur and Merlin got back on their horses to head back to Camelot. Both of them silently made a pact to not mention any of this to the knights or to Gwen. And while Arthur pretends to be embarrassed and annoyed, he actually had more fun today than he’s had in a while. Both of them felt much warmer than before they went leaf jumping, whether that was because of all the jumping they did, or because they both let loose and had some fun today.

They rode back into the courtyard in Camelot the same way they left, arguing and bantering back and forth with each other. As Merlin took their horses back to the stables, he could hear Arthur and Gwen talking on the stairs to the castle. Arthur was blushing and stuttering out answers as Gwen innocently asked what they did that day, while pointing out that Arthur’s tunic and hair were covered in leaves.

As Merlin went back to his little home with Gaius, Gwen caught his eye from across the courtyard. She smiled at him and winked, then mouthed a ‘thank you’ to him. Gwen probably had figured out what the two of them had been doing, and was grateful that Arthur had spent the day having fun and relaxing. Merlin just grinned and winked back at her, and watched from the doorway to the physicians chambers as Gwen and Arthur walked arm and arm back into the castle.

The next morning, when Merlin woke Arthur up, Arthur told him that Gwen had figured out what they had been doing yesterday. Merlin, who had already guessed this, just stayed silent and smiled as Arthur sternly told him that he had convinced Gwen that he was just teaching Merlin the “fine art of leaf jumping” and not to accidentally contradict his story.

Merlin just laughed and rolled his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this fic, firelordmerlin! :D


End file.
